Marina Hinßen is a Research Associate at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She recently spent a month at DECIPHer.
What led me here
Throughout my academic journey, I have been driven by one central motivation: to contribute to individual well-being by improving the conditions that shape people’s lives at a structural level. After completing my Bachelor’s degree in General Psychology, I pursued a Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Mannheim, with a specialised profile in Work, Economy, and Society and a minor in Political Science. Mannheim is particularly well known in Germany for its strength in economic and organisational psychology, and this environment helped me develop a strong interest in connecting psychological perspectives on human behaviour with broader social and policy contexts.
I am currently pursuing my PhD at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where my research focuses on social disparities in health and personalised nicotine prevention. As part of my doctoral work, I developed the school-based prevention programme nachvorn and am evaluating its effectiveness in a cluster-randomised controlled trial with more than 1,700 children from 42 schools serving predominantly lower Socioeconomic Status (SES) communities. The programme aims to reduce early vaping and smoking behaviours and to strengthen life skills such as critical thinking, self-regulation, and healthy strategies for coping with stress.
‘An important part of my research is understanding not only whether the programme works, but also for whom, under which conditions, and through which mechanisms.’
An important part of my research is understanding not only whether the programme works, but also for whom, under which conditions, and through which mechanisms. During the development and evaluation of the programme, I have therefore been particularly interested in the needs of children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as potential differences in intervention effects and underlying mechanisms. Because the programme is implemented in schools, the project also offers an opportunity to better understand the interplay between individual-level factors and the wider school context.
When I first developed my intervention, one of the papers that stayed with me was by Prof Graham Moore on interactions between school-level and individual-level influences on student well-being. It strongly resonated with my own thinking: that prevention research needs to take context seriously. I came to DECIPHer hoping to deepen this perspective and to work on a publication on SES-related individual and school-level risk factors for children’s vaping and smoking behaviour.
Arriving in Cardiff and working at DECIPHer
My first contact with DECIPHer already made me feel very welcome. After a friendly video call with Dr Kelly Morgan and Prof Graham Moore, everything was set. When I arrived in Cardiff, the city greeted me with mild weather, sunny days, and seagulls that made it feel unexpectedly close to a holiday. Staying in the student residence Aberdare Hall also added a special touch — as a Harry Potter fan, I could not help but appreciate the atmosphere.
‘The centre reminded me of the coworking spaces I like to spend time in: places where people are focused, open-minded and genuinely passionate about what they are doing.’
At DECIPHer, I was struck by how well organised and welcoming the environment was. The centre reminded me of the coworking spaces I like to spend time in: places where people are focused, open-minded and genuinely passionate about what they are doing. I also really appreciated the everyday moments with colleagues that made the stay special: lunchtime runs, coffee breaks on the cosy beanbags in the entrance area or on the steps in the foyer, jigsaw puzzling during lunch breaks, day trips on the weekends, and the spontaneous in-between conversations that gradually turned into new connections.
I am especially grateful to Dr Kelly Morgan and Prof Graham Moore, who took so much time to supervise and support me during my stay. Working with them offered exactly the kind of guidance and invaluable input I had hoped for, helping me look at my research findings from new perspectives and ask new questions of my data. I also greatly appreciated the many conversations with other DECIPHer and SHRN colleagues who generously took the time to meet with me, answer my questions about their work, discuss mine, and share their own perspectives.
Looking ahead
One of the most impressive aspects of my stay was learning more about the School Health Research Network. SHRN is a remarkable example of research infrastructure: its systematic data collection, extensive school coverage, and feedback mechanisms for schools and policymakers show how research can become embedded in practice. Coming from Germany, I found the connection between science and policymaking in Wales particularly inspiring. The institutional legitimacy given to prevention, and the openness toward systematic data collection, felt very encouraging.
This has been one of my biggest takeaways from the stay. At Charité, my team and I started with a very small team, recruited the schools for my PhD study from scratch, and worked hard to build the infrastructure needed to implement and evaluate the programme. We now hope to maintain this network of schools and build on it towards a more comprehensive research infrastructure. Learning from the SHRN model has therefore been highly valuable and has given me many ideas for what such an infrastructure could look like in the future.
‘Coming from Germany, I found the connection between science and policymaking in Wales particularly inspiring.’
On a broader level, my time at DECIPHer reminded me why I chose this field in the first place. Prevention has become an anchor for how I imagine my academic and professional future. Being surrounded by researchers who combine methodological rigour, interdisciplinary thinking, and a clear commitment to real-world impact was deeply inspiring. I also benefited from working with colleagues from other disciplines, especially in thinking more explicitly about sociological theories and structural determinants of health.
The time in Cardiff went by very quickly and felt like a real treat — I could easily have stayed longer. I leave with new ideas, new motivation, and new connections that I very much hope to maintain. I am grateful for the supervision, generosity, and warmth I experienced at DECIPHer and SHRN, and I hope this research stay will be the foundation for ongoing exchange and future collaboration.
And, of course, I already have another reason to come back beyond work: the Cardiff Half Marathon is still on my list. So, Cardiff – see you soon!
